Rebound X - Rhythm 'n' Gash

I figure instrumentals are the best way to ease yourself into grime. This is a stunning catchy, skippy little number. I don't think Mr X made anything else to follow it up, but this makes for a decent magnum opus.



JME and Skepta then vocalled it - this is vintage, it must have come out in maybe 2006 on Logan Sama's show. It's so anthemic and I played it so much that summer that I can still finish half the lines.



President T also did a phenomenal job on it about the same time - his voice is like a hammer wrapped in velvet.

President T - Large Way

Brass bands were probably the grime of the 1920s: strident, working class and home-grown. Yes indeed.

Which is why this track sounds so good, with the brassy hook trumpeting away and President T's off-kilter flow. The best bit is the last verse (1:37 onwards) - he disses someone for having a messy flat, and then hypes his association with refugees from repressive dictatorships (1:54). Archetypal grime.

In his verse on this, Skepta appears to be showing off that he knows what ASAP means. Whilst this is good news for him, it makes for really boring bars, although he does warm up a bit by 1:10. And you can't rinse him too hard, because I'm pretty sure he made this instrumental, and it's immense.

President T - Large Way by mantequilla